The Lovers

- VI -"There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand one another..."

Description

The Lovers represents those forces that bring people together in interpersonal relationships. These relationships are not always physical or romantic, as the Lovers also works within ideas, movements, events, and groups. The Lovers also confronts those personal beliefs (as opposed to communal beliefs from the Hierophant) that shape their values and how they will make the important choices in the world. It's easy for the Lovers to get bogged down when their choices take them further away from who they want to be, and there are those who might find The Lover shallow or concerned with unimportant things. But the Lovers can find a way to establish strong bonds with others when they finally decide what is truly important to them.

While the Upright Lovers are concerned with coming together with other people, their values and their choices, their Reversed counterparts meet with problems doing the same. In some cases, these Lovers drift apart from other people, be it violently or passively, as things fail to work out or fail to connect. They may be unable to make those important decisions in their lives altogether, if their choices are not /merely/ poor ones, and often do not know what it is they really want. Their personal values, so strong Upright, are weak or even missing, as far as anyone else can see.

Sample Personae

Gwragedd Annwn, Welsh water fairies that live within lakes

Narcissus, a young man of Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection and died

Reversed Traits

OPPOSITE: Break-up, Bonds are severed, Irreconcilable differences, Weaker apart than together, Bad choices, Wrong choices, Misunderstandings, Miscommunication. The post-messy break-up couple who now hate and badmouth each other.
BLOCKED: Inability to choose, Inability to unite, Inability to understand others, Communication breakdown, Not knowing what to do. The couple whose relationship is on the rocks but can't figure out how to make it work.
UPSIDE-DOWN: Choices made for the wrong reasons, Lust, Selfish desires, Lack of unity, Lack of togetherness, Inability to become whole. The couple who gets together and stays together despite total incompatibility because the alternative is being alone.